The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E is the first Cisco Catalyst supervisor engine to bring wired and wireless convergence to a single platform. In addition, the enterprise-class Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E offers the following:

●Performance and capability

-Up to 928 Gbps wired switching capacity with 250 Mpps of throughput

-Up to 20 Gigabits of wireless termination capacity for a wireless controller-less design. Support for up to 50 access points and 2000 wireless clients on each switching entity (software roadmap)

-Full backward compatibility with 6-, 24-, and 48-Gbps slot line cards with no performance degradation

-The Supervisor Engine 8-E is compatible with classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 line cards and power supplies, providing full investment protection. It is not compatible with the classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 chassis. When you deploy the Supervisor Engine 8-E with classic line cards, all of the new features except the 24- and 48-Gbps per-slot switching capacity are inherited

The Supervisor Engine 8-E is also optimized for multimedia applications, with its advanced multicast support offered by features such as Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) and Source-Specific Multicast (SSM). This functionality gives your network additional scalability to support multimedia applications.

Converged Wired plus Wireless Access

The Supervisor Engine 8-E is the first Cisco Catalyst supervisor engine that enables wired plus wireless services on a single Cisco IOS XE Software-based platform. With this functionality, Cisco has pioneered a host of rich capabilities such as high availability based on stateful switchover (SSO), granular QoS, security, and Flexible Netflow (FNF) across wired and wireless networks in a seamless fashion. Also, the wired plus wireless features are bundled into a single Cisco IOS Software image, which reduces the number of software images that users have to qualify or certify before implementing them in their network. The single console port for command-line interface (CLI) management reduces the number of touch points to manage for wired plus wireless services. This reduces network complexity, simplifies network operations, and lowers TCO to manage the infrastructure.

Converged wired plus wireless not only improves wireless bandwidth across the network but also the scale of wireless deployment. A Supervisor Engine 8-E-enabled Catalyst 4500E provides up to 20 Gbps of wireless throughput. This wireless capacity increases with the number of additional Catalyst 4500E members in the wireless domain. This ability helps ensure that the network can scale with current wireless bandwidth requirements, as dictated by IEEE 802.11n-based access points and with future wireless standards such as IEEE 802.11ac. Additionally, the Supervisor Engine 8-E distributes the wireless controller functions to achieve better scalability. With Supervisor Engine 8-E each Cisco Catalyst 4500E switch can operate as the wireless controller in two modes. They include:

Mobility agent (MA) - In this mode the switch is capable of terminating the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points protocol (CAPWAP) tunnels from the access points and providing wireless connectivity to wireless clients. Maintaining wireless client databases, and configuring and enforcing security and QoS policies for wireless clients and access points can be enforced in this mode. No additional license on top of IP Base is required to operate in the mobility agent mode.

Mobility controller (MC) - In this mode, the switch performs all the mobility agent tasks in addition to mobility coordination, radio resource management (RRM), and Cisco CleanAir® coordination within a mobility subdomain. The mobility controller mode can be enabled on the switch CLI. IP Base or Enterprise Image license level is required when the switch is acting as the mobility controller. A centrally located Cisco 5508 Wireless Controller, Cisco Wireless Services Module 2 (WiSM2) (when running AireOS Version 7.3 or higher), and Cisco 5760 Wireless LAN Controller can also perform this role for larger deployments.

With mobility agents located in the wiring closets providing 20 Gbps of wireless per switch and mobility controllers managing some of the central wireless functions, the converged access-based wireless deployment provides best-in-class scalability for wireless and significantly improved wireless throughput.

The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series is designed for excellent nonstop communications with noninterrupted hardware switching. With Cisco IO XE Software, customers continue to reap the benefit of this best-in-class resiliency in various ways.

ISSU allows you to upgrade or downgrade complete Cisco IOS Software images with minimal (less than 200 msec) to no disruption to the network when using a redundant Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series system with dual Supervisor Engines 8-E. Facilitating rapid, non-disruptive software upgrades for new line cards, new power supplies, new features, or bug fixes, ISSU offers continuous packet forwarding during the supervisor-engine switchover running different Cisco IOS Software releases.

NSF/SSO offers continuous packet forwarding during supervisor-engine switchover. Information is fully synchronized between supervisor engines to allow the standby supervisor engine to immediately take over in subsecond time if the primary engine fails.

NSF/SSO and ISSU dramatically improve the network reliability and availability in a Layer 2 or Layer 3 environment. NSF/SSO and ISSU are essential for business-critical applications such as voice over IP (VoIP). These features help ensure that VoIP calls are not dropped.

In addition to redundant power supplies, fans, and clock modules, the Cisco Catalyst 4510R+E, 4507R+E, 4510R-E, and 4507R-E chassis models support 1 + 1 supervisor-engine redundancy, using the Supervisor Engine 8-E. The primary supervisor engine is active and is responsible for normal system operation. Thesecondary supervisor engine serves as a standby, monitoring the operation of the primary supervisor engine. The resiliency features of the Cisco Catalyst 4500E prevent network outages that could result in lost business and revenue.

Apart from the features previously mentioned, Supervisor Engine 8-E has resiliency built into its uplinks. Table 2 shows the uplink options and associated bandwidth allocation on Supervisor Engine 8-E.

As campus switching has grown to support increasing enterprise demands, so has the need to deploy and manage new and evolving technologies. Simplified operations are critical in meeting these challenges and achieving increased operational efficiency through proactive management and reduction in unplanned network downtime.

The Cisco Catalyst Supervisor Engine 8-E offers the following rich set of capabilities for simplified operations:

The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E is a validated component of the Cisco TrustSec® 2.1 architecture. This allows the Supervisor Engine 8-E to be transparently integrated into campus switching environments for a comprehensive security solution based on Cisco TrustSec. The Supervisor Engine 8-E is a foundational element of the Cisco TrustSec architecture with support for the following functionalities:

●Device sensor - The device sensor on the Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E helps enable the ability to recognize the devices connected to the switch. This feature also interoperates with the Cisco Identity Services Engine, providing for a centralized view of all devices access the network in a scalable manner. When combined with AutoSmartPorts (ASP), it also provides the ability to dynamically apply policies on the switch based on the device type. For more information, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios-xml/ios/sec_usr_aaa/configuration/15-1sg/sec-dev-sensor.html.

●Identity-based networking - The Supervisor Engine 8-E currently contains the most rich and robust set of IEEE 802.1X-based identity features to provide the right level of authenticated access to users. It also simplifies identity deployments with features such as Flexible Authentication, WebAuth, and MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB), as well as open mode for undisrupted operations while providing visibility into network access. The identity features provide integrated support for IP telephony. It also provides for flexible authorization policies with virtual LAN (VLAN) assignment and dynamic ACLs. For more information, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst4500/15.1/XE_330SG/configuration/guide/dot1x.html.

The flow data collected by FNF can be exported to an external collector for analysis and reporting, or tracked by the EEM. The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E can enable powerful, on-box, and customizable event correlation and policy actions with EEM, allowing the switches to trigger customized event alarms or policy actions when the predefined condition is met. With no external appliance required, customers are able to use existing infrastructure to perform traffic monitoring, making traffic analysis economical even on a large IP network.

The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series Switches with the Supervisor 8-E offer built in Wireshark. With this capability the user has the ability to capture control and data packets traversing through the system. The user has the option to display the captured packets on the screen using CLI commands or view them on a traditional Wireshark GUI installed on a standalone processing machine by moving the PCAP files from an SD card. With the introduction of quad-core CPU on Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E, Wireshark capture performance is greatly enhanced from earlier generations of supervisors and is ideal for proactive debugging in today’s networking deployments. The analyzer can be used in conjunction with Flexible Netflow and Embedded Event Manager to start packet capture in response to selected networked conditions such as SYN flood attack or higher usage of bandwidth by a user.

●Cisco IOS XE Software supports service virtualization capabilities that allows the Cisco Catalyst 4500E to host applications other than Cisco IOS Software, such as customer-written applications or third-party applications in parallel with Cisco IOS Software. The hosted application can communicate with Cisco IOS Software to use its rich feature sets. This benefit allows a customer to quickly adopt new technologies using proven code, while keeping Cisco IOS Software simple and robust. Cisco IOS XE Software helps enable the Cisco Catalyst 4500E to be an open service platform and is a primary anchor to support future Cisco Borderless Networks innovations.

IPv6 Support

IPv6 is important for the future of IP networking and is critical for the expansion of IP address space in the future. IPv6 capability is required by many companies and is being mandated by governments worldwide. The Cisco Catalyst 4500 Supervisor Engine 8-E supports IPv6 Unicast and Multicast in hardware for full line-rate forwarding performance of up to 125 Mpps. The Supervisor Engine 8-E also dynamically allocates hardware table space between IPv4 and IPv6 routes to increase table-space usage for optimal IPv4-to-IPv6 migration The Supervisor Engine 8-E supports Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) snooping for IPv6, enhancing performance and reducing network traffic by allowing a switch to dynamically add and remove hosts from a multicast group.

-Routing context - Simplified and optimized virtual-network operation and troubleshooting are supported on a per-VRF basis.

●Scalability - Cisco EVN promotes flexibility to scale up to 32 virtual network solutions; operationally it offers four times the virtual-network scalability capacity over Multi-VRF technology.

●Interoperability - Cisco EVN provides network topology isolation based on an RFC-defined control plane; for example, Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Multicast etc. The data-plane security and protection are maintained through industry standard IEEE 802.1Q. In addition, the Cisco EVN‑supported system interoperates with peer Cisco EVN, Multi-VRF, and MPLS systems.

Investment Protection with Chassis and Line-Card Support

Previously installed Cisco Catalyst 4500E chassis with classic and E-Series line cards can take advantage of the new features and functions of the Supervisor Engine 8-E on all ports with a simple supervisor engine upgrade. However, to take advantage of the increased switching capacity of 48 Gbps per slot, the Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series chassis (including R+E chassis) and the select new E-Series line cards are required. You can mix and match Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series line cards and classic line cards in an E-Series chassis with no performance degradation to either line card type. Table 4 shows the supervisor engine and line card slot assignment options in the Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series chassis.

Table 4.Cisco Catalyst 4500E Chassis Slot-Assignment Options

Chassis

Single Supervisor Engine 8-E Slot Assignments

Redundant Supervisor Engine 8-E Slot Assignments

E-Series Line-Card Slot Options

Classic Line-Card Slot Options

Cisco Catalyst 4503-E

Slot 1

-

Slots 2 and 3

Slots 2 and 3

Cisco Catalyst 4506-E

Slot 1

-

Slots 2 through 6

Slots 2 through 6

Cisco Catalyst 4507R+E

Slot 3 or 4

Slots 3 or 4

Slots 1, 2, and 5 to 7

Slots 1, 2, and 5 to 7

Cisco Catalyst 4510R+E

Slots 5 or 6

Slots 5 or 6

Slots 1 to 4, and 7 to 10

Slots 1 to 4, and 7 to 10

Cisco Catalyst 4507R-E

(Software Roadmap)

Slot 3 or 4

Slots 3 or 4

Slots 1, 2, and 5 to 7

Slots 1, 2, and 5 to 7

Cisco Catalyst 4510R-E

(Software Roadmap)

Slots 5 or 6

Slots 5 or 6

Slots 1 to 4, and 7 to 10

Slots 1 to 4, and 7 to 10

Table 5 summarizes the performance capacities of the Supervisor Engine 8-E on a per-chassis basis.

Cisco IOS XE Software LAN Base: This feature set on the Supervisor 8-E-based bundles provides Layer 2 features for access.

Cisco IOS XE Software IP Base: This feature set is upgradable with a software activation license (SAL). It includes all Layer 2 features and some basic Layer 3 features. ISSU/SSO is supported in this package.

Cisco IOS XE Software Enterprise Services: This feature set is upgradable with a SAL; it supports full Layer 3 protocols and advanced features such as complete routing scalability (256,000), BGP, VRF, Policy-Based Routing (PBR), and so on.

These features can be enabled using the software-licensing mechanism. For details about software licensing, refer to the “Licensing” section later in this document or visit http://www.cisco.com/go/sa.

The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series Supervisor Engine 8-E is supported only in Cisco IOS Software and is not supported in the Cisco Catalyst Operating System Software. The minimum software version is:

●Supervisor Engine 8-E, Cisco IOS XE Software Release IOS XE 3.3.0XO

Environmental Conditions

●Operating temperature: 32 to 104ºF (0 to 40ºC)

●Storage temperature: -40 to 167ºF (-40 to 75ºC)

●Relative humidity: 10 to 90 percent, noncondensing

●Operating altitude: -60 to 3000 m

Power and Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) Information

Active supervisor power: 400W

Standby supervisor power: 265W

This result is not indicative of the actual power draw during operation. It is the absolute maximum value recommended for facility power and cooling capacity planning. Typical power draw is about 20 percent lower than the maximum value shown.

The Cisco limited lifetime hardware warranty (LLW) includes 10-day advance hardware replacement for as long as the original end user owns the product. Table 8 describes the limited lifetime hardware warranty.

Your formal warranty statement, including the warranty applicable to Cisco software, appears in the Cisco information packet that accompanies your Cisco product. We encourage you to review carefully the warranty statement shipped with your specific product before use.

Adding a Cisco technical services contract to your device coverage provides benefits not available with a warranty, including access to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC), a variety of hardware replacement options to meet critical business needs, updates for licensed Cisco IOS Software, and registered access to the extensive Cisco.com knowledge base and support tools. Table 9 describes the benefits and features of Cisco technical services.

The warranty lasts as long as the original end user continues to own or use the product, except for the fan and power supply, which are limited to five years.

End-of-Life Policy

In the event of discontinuance of product manufacture, Cisco warranty support is limited to five years from the announcement of discontinuance.

Hardware Replacement

Cisco or our service center will use commercially reasonable efforts to ship a replacement part within 10 business days after receipt of the RMA request and confirmation that a replacement part is the appropriate response. Actual delivery times may vary depending on customer location.

Effective Date

Hardware warranty commences from the date of shipment to the customer (and in case of resale by a Cisco reseller, not more than 90 days after original shipment by Cisco).

Cisco TAC Support

None.

Cisco.com Access

The warranty allows guest access only to Cisco.com.

1 Cisco reserves the right to refund the purchase price as its exclusive warranty remedy.

Cisco and Partner Services

Deploy the innovative, highly secure, intelligent edge in the Cisco Borderless Networks Architecture using personalized services from Cisco and our partners. Through a discovery process that begins with understanding your business objectives, we help you integrate the next-generation Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series Switches into your architecture and incorporate network services onto that platform. Sharing knowledge and leading practices, we support your success every step of the way as you deploy, absorb, manage, and scale new technology. Choose from a flexible suite of support services designed to meet your business needs and help you maintain high-quality network performance while controlling operational costs. Table 9 shows the Cisco technical services available for Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series Switches.

1 Cisco operating system updates include maintenance releases, minor updates, and major updates within the licensed feature set.

2 Advance hardware replacement is available in various service-level combinations. For example, 8 x 5 x NBD indicates that shipment will be initiated during the standard eight-hour business day, five days a week (the generally accepted business days within the relevant region), with NBD delivery. Where NBD is not available, same-day shipment is provided. Restrictions apply; please review the appropriate service descriptions for details.